1.) GOP talks jobs — It’s a full-time job, just keeping up with all the talk about jobs. Now the GOP candidates are elbowing each other out of the way to be the alternative to Obama’s record. Rick Perry is already saying of job creation in Texas, “there is no one that can stand toe-to-toe with us.” But how do we determine which candidate is the best? TheDC’s C.J. Ciaramella takes a look: “One approach is to do a direct comparison of data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Among the recent governors running for president — Jon Huntsman of Utah, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Perry — Huntsman has the best job growth numbers during the two years in which all three candidates’ tenures overlapped… An analysis by the blog Political Math shows Texas has had some of the most robust economic growth — relative to the overall lackluster state of the union — of any state. Since the recession started, Texas’s economy has grown the fastest, increasing jobs by 2.2 percent, and hourly wages in Texas have increased at the sixth fastest pace in the nation… But there’s another former governor in the race who perhaps has a better overall job number than even Perry. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson had a job-growth rate of 11.6 percent between 1995 and 2003. And Johnson — a staunch libertarian — said he had no role in that job growth besides staying out of the way.” Now that’s the sort of thing more and more people want to hear. In any case, it seems unlikely that any of the GOP candidates could screw things up worse than Obama has, unless they plan to order Dr. Evil to build an actual Job-Destroying Ray. (Oh, you didn’t know Dr. Evil was a Republican? It’s right there in his name.)
2.) Honest Obe — The GOP’s best strategy for 2012? Just let Obama talk. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports: “President Barack Obama said yesterday in Decorah, Iowa, that he absorbs more political criticism than Abraham Lincoln, the assassinated 16th U.S. president, attracted from his Civil War critics. The comment came during a question-and-answer session where one invited audience member asked Obama how he deals with his congressional critics in the GOP. ‘The Congress doesn’t seem to be a good partner. You said so yourself, they’re more interested in seeing you lose than [seeing] the country win,’ the questioner lamented. ‘Democracy is always a messy business in a big country like this,’ Obama responded. ‘When you listen to what the federalists said about the anti-federalists … those guys were tough. Lincoln, they used to talk about him almost as bad as they talk about me.'” Yeah. Almost! Thanks to advances in nanotechnology, soon scientists will be able to accompany Obama on the world’s smallest violin.
3.) Look for the union label when you are digging the bullet out of your flesh — Unions have been getting a bad rap lately. Here’s why. TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports: “King Electrical Services owner John King was shot by a person who appears to be from one of the many unions who have targeted his workers, Toledo News Channel 11 WTOL reports. King is the largest non-union electrical contractor company in the area of southeastern Michigan near the Ohio border. He has a long history of being on the receiving end of union-related violence, and this case doesn’t appear to be any different. Before shooting him, the gunman etched the word ‘SCAB’ into the side of King’s SUV. The altercation started when King woke up late last Wednesday to find someone in his driveway. He described the intruder as a ‘silhouette figure’ because he didn’t see the person clearly enough to offer a description. The individual was attempting to vandalize his SUV. When King went outside his Lambertville, Mich., home to confront the person, the vandal shot him in the arm.” Hey, you know how teabaggers are “terrorists” for disagreeing with their betters? Just imagine how bad they’d be if they actually shot people.
4.) Wisconsin Dems sure went through a lot of cheddar — If it’s Wednesday, it must be time to tally the results of yet another Wisconsin recall election. Associated Press: “Two Democratic Wisconsin state senators targeted by Republicans survived their elections Tuesday, ending a tumultuous summer of recalls spurred by anger over how lawmakers reacted to Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal curbing collective bargaining rights of public workers. The recall elections in Wisconsin drew national attention with money pouring in from outside groups on both sides to influence the outcome. It’s estimated that total spending may break $40 million on the nine recall races combined.” Go Dems! Money well spent. And now… the Republicans still control the Wisconsin Senate. Oh.
5.) Helping the less fortunate is always in fashion — Everybody with the gift of sight knows that Michelle Obama is the most stylish First Lady since… well, ever! But even the most tasteful fashionista could use some help now and then. TheDC’s Laura Donovan reports: “Now that she’s done dressing up the chic fictional characters of ‘Sex and the City,’ stylist Patricia Field is interested in giving First Lady Michelle Obama some fashion pointers. Though a fan of Mrs. Obama’s attire, Field believes she could be of some assistance to the First Lady. ‘Someone in the public eye who I would like to work with is Michelle Obama,’ Field told the Daily Mail. ‘Not because she always gets it wrong, because she gets it right. She dresses very nicely, I respect her look, but when it comes to her special occasion clothes, I might be able to help her a bit, out of respect to her.'” Yes, yes. Not because she needs the help, mind you. Out of respect. It would be very easy to say something catty and hurtful here. Very, very, very, very easy.
6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Adam Baldwin’s Twitter feed — “Scientifically speaking: Over time, what is the difference between Obama’s ‘dark cloud of tyranny’ & Rick Perry’s ‘black cloud of debt’?”
VIDEO: Ed Schultz apologizes for the ineptitude of his race-baiting
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